A Hybrid Renewable Energy-Powered Automatic Drip Irrigation System for Optimized Water Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21831407Keywords:
automatic drip irrigation, hybrid renewable energy, precision agriculture, soil moisture sensing, solar photovoltaic system, water-use efficiencyAbstract
This experimental engineering study designed and tested a hybrid renewable energy-powered automatic drip irrigation system for optimized water management. The prototype combined a solar photovoltaic module and a stream-driven permanent-magnet direct-current generator with a 12-V battery, charge-control circuitry, microcontroller, relays, pumps, soil-moisture sensing, and drip-delivery components. Physical modeling and simulation-based prototyping were followed by five component trials and a three-day field test on a 50-m² string-bean plot in Sitio Alagao, Barangay Minuyan, Norzagaray, Bulacan. Performance was assessed through generator voltage, power and charging calculations, turbine speed limits, pump output, water consumption, irrigation duration, and calculated soil moisture. The first two generator configurations did not provide sufficient voltage, whereas the revised gearing in Trial 3 generated a consistent 25–30 V. The corrected solar configuration in Trial 5 also powered the system successfully. Automatic irrigation consumed 11.5 L per operation compared with 48 L under traditional irrigation, representing approximately 76.0% less water. Irrigation duration was reduced to about 2 min, compared with 12 min for manual watering and 30 min for traditional irrigation. The calculated average solar-charger output was 33.25 W, while the pump delivered an estimated 42 W mechanical output. The system maintained a calculated soil-moisture level of 95.833% for the specified test volume. The findings show that a hybrid off-grid irrigation prototype can reduce water use and manual effort while sustaining sensor-controlled water delivery. The study contributes a practical basis for further field validation, longer-term crop testing, and refinement of renewable-energy irrigation systems.
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